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Train engineer vs rail car operator

The differences between train engineers and rail car operators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a train engineer and a rail car operator. Additionally, a train engineer has an average salary of $82,531, which is higher than the $45,571 average annual salary of a rail car operator.

Train engineer vs rail car operator overview

Train EngineerRail Car Operator
Yearly salary$82,531$45,571
Hourly rate$39.68$21.91
Growth rate4%4%
Number of jobs21,63931,823
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 74%High School Diploma, 76%
Average age4747
Years of experience22

Train engineer vs rail car operator salary

Train engineers and rail car operators have different pay scales, as shown below.

Train EngineerRail Car Operator
Average salary$82,531$45,571
Salary rangeBetween $50,000 And $133,000Between $26,000 And $77,000
Highest paying CitySeattle, WA-
Highest paying stateWashington-
Best paying companyChevron-
Best paying industryManufacturing-

Differences between train engineer and rail car operator education

There are a few differences between a train engineer and a rail car operator in terms of educational background:

Train EngineerRail Car Operator
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 74%High School Diploma, 76%
Most common majorCivil EngineeringBusiness
Most common college--

Train engineer vs rail car operator demographics

Here are the differences between train engineers' and rail car operators' demographics:

Train EngineerRail Car Operator
Average age4747
Gender ratioMale, 81.0% Female, 19.0%Male, 96.1% Female, 3.9%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 12.3% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 1.9% White, 69.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%Black or African American, 14.1% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 10.0% Asian, 1.9% White, 68.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage12%12%

Differences between train engineer and rail car operator duties and responsibilities

Train engineer example responsibilities.

  • Manage general facilities including commissioning, building management systems, and calibrations for GMP area for tablets production operation.
  • Used VRML and Java for interfacing (EAI).
  • Gain experience as an EIT.
  • Support the scrum development team by resolving impediments.
  • Perform asphalt, concrete, and soil testing.
  • Optimize department SharePoint site by arranging new folder structure and project tracking numbers.
  • Show more

Rail car operator example responsibilities.

  • Support the efforts of uniform patrol deputies.
  • Operate wheel loaders to move coal from stockpile to power plant.
  • Utilize AS400 system to locate appropriate rail car to be load from.
  • Move empty rail cars to the loadout area, and build full rail car trains for CSX to pick-up and transport.
  • Operate and perform basic maintenance on locomotives.
  • Establish a good relationship with customer to help meet their needs for railroad switching at tate and lyle.

Train engineer vs rail car operator skills

Common train engineer skills
  • Pi Planning, 21%
  • Release Train, 17%
  • Scrum, 13%
  • RTE, 11%
  • PI, 7%
  • Continuous Improvement, 7%
Common rail car operator skills

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